Teacher turnover: School districts in west-central Florida are struggling to find teachers willing to work in low-income and low-rated schools. Incentive money alone is not working. "It's working conditions above anything else that determines whether teachers stay or go," says Sonja Santelises, vice president of K-12 policy at the Education Trust, whose group has researched schools in poor neighborhoods that achieve high results. Tampa Bay Times. Opt-outs by teachers and principals are creating substantial numbers of openings at low-rated schools in Pinellas County that the district has targeted for turnaround. Gradebook.

Top teacher finalist: Laurie Zentz, the band director at Switzerland Point Middle School in St. Johns County, is one of five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced in July. WJXT. Florida Times-Union. St. Augustine Record.

Debit cards and food: Orange County teachers are angry that the district is ordering them to repay any food purchases they made with their state-issued "classroom supply" debit cards. District officials said they were following orders from the state that prohibit food purchases. When asked directly about it Friday, district officials said food bought for academic lessons, such as science experiments, doesn't have to be reimbursed. That message was not shared across the district, though. Florida provides districts money for teachers to buy "classroom materials and supplies" for students. Orange County's teachers had $275 each to spend this school year. Orlando Sentinel.

Education lawsuit: A group of black pastors is urging the state NAACP to drop out of the lawsuit challenging the legality of tax-credit scholarships. “We see no principled reason to fight an education program that is targeted exclusively at low-income children and has a 14-year track record of helping black students succeed,” according to a petition directed to the NAACP. A Leon County Circuit Court judge dismissed the case last May, and an appeal will be heard Tuesday by the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, administers tax-credit scholarships for about 80,000 low-income students, and also the Gardiner Scholarships for students with disabilities. Politico Florida. (more…)